Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (May 13, 2015)
4 A ❘ WEDNESDAY EDITION ❘ MAY 13, 2015 Siuslaw News RYAN CRONK , EDITOR ❘ 541-902-3520 ❘ Opinion P.O. Box 10 Florence, OR 97439 EDITOR @ THESIUSLAWNEWS . COM DEAR READERS: New letters policy P lease take a moment to review our revised policy for letters to the editor at the bottom of this page. —Editor From the Editor’s Desk Time for a change ... of print B Y R YAN C RONK Siuslaw News Editor T his year marks the 125th anniversary of the Siuslaw News, and because of this remarkable achievement, it seemed like the perfect time to update some parts of the newspaper that felt, well, out of date. As I hope you have noticed, the front page has been redesigned. Teasers for sports and inside stories are now at the top, along with our social media sites for Facebook and Twitter. The index and weather infor- mation also have been spruced up for easier reading. You’ll notice the flags have changed as well for the Sports and Coast Life sections and the Opinion page. This is only the beginning. In the months ahead, we hope to introduce more changes and additions to better serve our readers and contin- ue the newspaper’s long-established history in the community. Speaking of new additions, our 125th Anniversary Flashback series will return next week. In the mean- time, let us know what you think of our new look. NEIGHBORS Flashback — A very short dissertation dinners and BYOB (bring your own bottle). It was named The Rendezvous, pronounced “ron-day- voo” — one of my friends who spent more time looking at girls in school than he did studying English, called it the Ren-dez-voos (which really made more sense). One night, a long-time friend ordered a rare steak in there, and when it was delivered he carried it around to every booth and insisted that the mostly complete strangers take a bite from the hot, dripping meat. Buck was a big, good-natured guy who could get away with most anything. Such was the uninhibited attitudes of the times. Our favorite was the little Snack Bar on the west side of the highway, somewhere near the street leading to the present-day Elks Lodge. It was owned by Bobbie and Richey B OB J ACKSON N EIGHBORHOOD C ORRESPONDENT For the Siuslaw News F ew remain in this town of Florence who know what it was like here, say in the 1950s. North of the bridge across the Siuslaw River, a few new restaurants were beginning to sprout along Highway 101 amongst the pine trees and rhododendron bushes. It doesn’t require much space to list the ones that I can remember. Small and unpretentious, they offered limited menus that reflected the tastes of the hardworking locals and occasional tourist visitors. There was the little Penguin restaurant, and across from what is now the Oregon Pacific Bank, a decorative sandstone facade invited hungry patrons to the Dorchester House. We had breakfast there once, and I recall the cook being a tall, older and very profes- sional appearing gentleman that turned out pancakes that were not only delicious, but browned to a deli- cate vision of artistic perfection. Marie’s, a popular diner that eventu- ally became known as the Windward Inn, was considered at the time (like the new airport) as being “north of town.” Just south of the bridge, on the other end of town there was a “water- ing hole” nightclub where they had Anderson who also owned a little Aeronca plane they kept at the new airport. The Snack Bar had an inside counter and outside drive-up stations. It had class, partly because of being surrounded by walls of attractive glass block. The bald and portly cook was unique, through the open pass- through he could always be seen whistling popular tunes. It was enter- taining — and he never stopped. One night in our bar-hopping days, I took a wild ride past the little Snack Bar. Because of my reputation as a wild and crazy driver, someone was always trying to out-do me. Martin G. owned a log truck and must have been doing alright because he bought a brand new Lincoln Capri that cost nearly $4,000 (seat belts were avail- able for another $25). It was black, with a white top and had a 317 cu in. V8. These cars won the top four spots in the stock car category of the Pan American road races in 1953. Cars were still status symbols then, and Martin was really proud of this car. We had both been drinking, and he dared me to take a ride in his “hot car.” Well, to make a long story short, we drove north out of town. Coming back, in a bit of spontaneous, euphor- ic, alcohol-fueled swaggering brava- do, he floor-boarded it. Looking at the speedometer as we passed the Snack Bar, the needle was hovering on 95 miles per hour — this on a city street. Youth and drinking is a bad combi- nation, and looking back, had we hit someone this could have resulted in unpremeditated murder. And, if you think there aren’t guiding angels hov- ering over us at times like this, well, think again! LETTERS Elect Carnahan, Phillips I support electing John Carnahan (firefighter) and Tony Phillips (Tony’s Garage) to the Siuslaw Valley Fire and Rescue Board of Directors. Presently, there’s a lack of diversity on the board. With John, you get a Western Lane Ambulance retired paramedic and current bat- talion chief from SVFR. Tony is not only a suc- cessful businessman, but also a master mechan- ic who understands the apparatus we utilize in the department. Both have invaluable knowledge, leadership and integrity that will strengthen our department in Florence and the surrounding area. Pete “Boa” Warren Volunteer, Siuslaw Valley Fire and Rescue Rose sale success L ETTERS TO THE E DITOR P OLICY The Siuslaw News welcomes letters to the editor concerning issues affecting the Florence area and Lane County. Emailed letters are preferred. Handwritten or typed letters must be signed. All letters should be limited to about 300 words and must include the writer’s full name, address and phone number for verification. Letters are subject to editing for length, grammar and clarity. Publication of any letter is not guaranteed and depends on space available and the vol- ume of letters received. Libelous and anonymous letters or poetry will not be published. All submissions become the property of Siuslaw News and will not be returned. Write to: Editor@TheSiuslawNews.com USPS# 497-660 The Soroptimist Club of Florence wishes to extend a very special thank you to the many supporters of the Soroptimist Rose Sale. On April 29, almost 400 dozen roses were delivered by Soroptimist members and spouses. All the proceeds from the rose sale go toward the scholarships for local students. Many thanks to the Florence businesses, folks of Florence and the surrounding area who bought roses. Frankie Jorgensen Florence They want more control I find it ironic that the government is encour- aging us to reduce our CO2 emissions. I was taught in science class on multiple occasions that plant life uses CO2 in the production of Chlorophyll (you know, that green stuff that is good for the human body). I also learned that when the plant life exchanges CO2 for O2, the gas we breathe is a byproduct of photosynthesis. Now the ironic thing about the carbon tax is that many of the policies that are being put into place actually produce more CO2. The carbon tax is nothing more than more control of the sheeple. And it sure seems like the sheeple love and want more control. The Department of Energy last week Can’t fool me twice The Dunes City Council, with one notable exception, did not lend their support to Lane County commissioners’ proposal for a county- wide fee on vehicle registrations — a sage deci- sion. The commissioner and his presentation team showed a graph depicting distribution of timber funds over some years past, and noted that it had not been updated with last year’s fig- ures. That was untrue. It showed that nothing was distributed, and that was the truth. Dunes City has exclusively used these funds, approximately $45,000 annually, over the years to maintain our city’s roads. Last year, the coun- ty took the funds and gave them all to the sher- iff’s department, which does not serve Dunes City whatsoever. They now want us to kick in thousands of dollars more that will come back to us as a $22,000 per year distribution. A pittance that will not maintain our roads, and we will again be subsidizing county activities elsewhere. The fair solution to the problem is a usage- based tax, which should be assessed at the pump. That being said, now is not the time to act. The commissioners have given all of this a false sense of urgency, knowing that many do not vote in May, but interest and participation in November is a different story, and that this is their best opportunity to sneak this in. This is a forever fee, which will only escalate. Commissioner Jay Bozievich noted that California’s registration fees run over $400, and he seemed to think that that was the standard, and was somehow germane to Oregon. Baloney! Vote “no” on this measure. Mary Jo Leach Dunes City Re-elect Nancy I endorse Nancy Rickard. As a Port of Siuslaw commissioner, she has shown her lead- ership by giving a voice to the environmentalists already working to preserve our watershed. Nancy sponsored the Siuslaw Watershed Council presentation by Liz Vollmer-Buhl and the presentation by biologist Paul Engelmeyer about our bird and fish populations. She is spon- soring upcoming presentations by the Surfrider Association’s Charlie Plybon and Ryan Cruse. Nancy is the voice of reason and experience during this difficult rebuilding time for the port’s wharf, facilities, docks and RV Park. Join with me. Vote to re-elect Commissioner Nancy Rickard. Jay Nefcy Florence Copyright 2015 © Siuslaw News Publisher, ext. 327 General Manager, ext. 318 Editor, ext. 313 Advertising Director, ext. 326 Office Supervisor, ext. 312 Production Supervisor Press Manager DEADLINES: Wednesday Issue—General news, Monday noon; Budgets, four days prior to publication; Regular classified ads, Monday 1 p.m.; Display ads, Monday noon; Boxed and display classified ads, Friday 5 p.m. Saturday Issue—General news, Thursday noon; Budgets, two days prior to publication; Regular classified ads, Thursday 1 p.m.; Display ads, Thursday noon; Boxed and display classified ads, Wednesday 5 p.m. Soundings, Tuesday 5 p.m. NEWSPAPER SUBSCRIPTION RATES: In Lane County — 1-year subscription, $71; 10-weeks subscription, $18; Out of Lane County — 1-year subscription, $94; 10-weeks subscription, $24; Out of State — 1-year subscription, $120; Out of United States — 1-year subscription, $200; E-Edition Online Only (Anywhere) — 1-year subscription, $65. Mail subscription includes E-Edition. Website and E-Edition: www.TheSiuslawNews.com WHERE TO WRITE Published every Wednesday and Saturday at 148 Maple St. in Florence, Lane County, Oregon. A member of the National Newspaper Association and Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association. Periodicals postage paid at Florence, Ore. Postmaster, send address changes to: Siuslaw News, P.O. Box 10, Florence, OR 97439; phone 541-997-3441; fax 541-997-7979. All press releases may be sent to PressReleases@TheSiuslawNews.com. John Bartlett Jenna Bartlett Ryan Cronk Susan Gutierrez Cathy Dietz Ron Annis Jeremy Gentry announced a conditional loan of $259 million to Alcoa, Inc., supporting the manufacture of light- weight-aluminum auto bodies. The resurrection of the DOE’s controversial fuel-efficient-vehi- cle loan program is a joke. The DOE’s loan programs have lost taxpayers at least $780 million. The only energy they pro- duce is finding ways to waste more of our money. Alcoa netted $23.9 billion in revenue last year, and they are receiving $259 million of our money to develop an aluminum car frame, which is much more expensive than a steel car frame. Alcoa’s green agenda not only costs con- sumers more, but it also leads to more green- house-gas emissions and more coal being burned — and those who oppose this agenda are demonized for selling out the planet. Say goodbye to more of your money. James Selby Florence Pres. Barack Obama The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW Washington, D.C. 20500 Comments: 202-456-1111 Switchboard: 202-456-1414 FAX: 202-456-2461 TTY/TDD Comments: 202-456-6213 www.whitehouse.gov Gov. Kate Brown 160 State Capitol 900 Court St. Salem, OR 97301-4047 Governor’s Citizens’ Rep. Message Line 503-378-4582 www.oregon.gov/gov U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden 221 Dirksen Senate Office Bldg Washington, DC 20510 202-224-5244 541-431-0229 www.wyden.senate.gov FAX: 503-986-1080 Email: Sen.ArnieRoblan@state.or.us U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley 313 Hart Senate Office Bldg Washington, DC 20510 202-224-3753/FAX: 202-228-3997 541-465-6750 State Rep. Caddy McKeown (Dist. 9) 900 Court St. NE Salem, OR 97301 503-986-1409 Email: rep.caddymckeown@state.or.us U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio (4th Dist.) 2134 Rayburn HOB Washington, DC 20515 202-225-6416/ 800-944-9603 541-269-2609/ 541-465-6732 www.defazio.house.gov State Sen. Arnie Roblan (Dist. 5) 900 Court St. NE - S-417 Salem, OR 97301 503-986-1705 West Lane County Commissioner Jay Bozievich 125 E. Eighth St. Eugene, OR 97401 541-682-4203 FAX: 541-682-4616 Email: Jay.Bozievich@co.lane.or.us